we have grievances and we vote them, but that's democracy. i wouldn't worry about that. >> larry: you thinking about the next book already? i know you are. >> no. >> larry: you're not. >> not this moment. >> larry: bob woodward, he's a one of a kind. the latest is "obama's wars." esshute of simon and schuster. kathleen parker, eliot spitzer are here tomorrow. jenny mccarthy on friday. right now, "ac 360" with some incredible stories. here's anderson cooper. larry, thanks and thanks for watching everyone. tonight keeping them honest, the law enforcement official, an assistant attorney general targeting a college student in his spare time, singling out for a campaign of vitriol and online attacks. new developments tonight, and the same question people keep asking us, why hasn't his boss fired him? we'll put that question to his boss, the attorney general of michigan. also tonight a bombshell campaign ad re-enacting a senator's visit with a prostitu prostitute. is it fair?

is it true? we have the facts. and later a rare sitdown with michael j. fox, his battle with parkinson's, what his days look like and what the future looks like in the battle against this killer disease. we begin though tonight keeping them honest. one of the new developments in one of the oddest stories we have reported on in a long, long time. new calls tonight for an assistant attorney general of michigan to be fired. in a moment we're going to talk with his boss, the attorney general of michigan, to find out if he will be. let's first get you up to speed. the man we're talking about is andrew shirvell, that's him, an assistant attorney general of michigan. for months in his private time he's been fixated on a young gay college student named chris armstrong. that's mr. armstrong. he's the first openly gay student body president at the university of michigan. so why does andrew shirvell, a public official, care about chris armstrong in that's a very good question. and to be honest i'm not really sure. but he does care an awful lot about this student who he says has a radical homosexual agenda. shirvell has made a blog attacking armstrong.

take a look. this is a screen shot of one blog posting with a picture of arm strong, we'll show you a closer shot of that. the word resign is scrawled on his face and a rainbow flag with a swastika right in the center of it. now there's months of postings like this by mr. shirvell, page after page, unproven allegations, smears. he calls the student a nazi-like recruiter for the cult that is homosexuality and he even calls him a privileged pervert and satan's representative on the student assembly. that's a quote. he has appeared outside armstrong's home videotaping the home at night. mr. shirvell says he's got the right to speak his mind. the question is, though, by targeting this student and his friends, has this public official gone too far? you can judge for yourself. we had him on the program last night. here's some of what he said. i've got to ask you, i mean, you're a state official. this is a college student. what are you doing? >> well, anderson, basically if

you've been involved in political campaigns before, you know all sorts of stuff happens. and this is just another tactic bringing awareness to what chris really stands for. >> this is not some national figure. this is a guy who's running a student council. >> well, anderson, as a private citizen and as a university of michigan alum, i care, because this is my university. and i wasn't the only first person to criticize chris. in fact, long before i started the blog, a couple of weeks before that, the alliance defense fund, a well-known legal christian foundation, put out an alert about chris. so i'm not the only person that has criticized chris, and i'm not the first person to criticize chris. >> but are you the only person running this blog, which is putting nazi swastikas on this guy. you're a grown adult. does that seem appropriate to you? >> like i said, this is a political campaign. this is nothing personal against chris.

i don't know chris. >> what do you mean it's nothing personal? you're outside his house, you're videotaping his house, you're shouting him down at public events, you're calling him satan's representative on the student council, you're attacking his parents, his friends' parents. i mean, you can't say it's not personal. >> well, chris and any political campaign, you have to raise awareness and issues, and that's one way of doing it is by protesting. >> so that was some of our conversation last night. i should point out mr. shirvell is not involved in a political campaign, not running for anything, nor is mr. armstrong. he's already elected student body president. here's some more from the interview last night. it appears though that you're obsessed with this young gay man. i mean, i've read all your blog postings. you're like perusing his facebook, his friends' facebook pages, you're making completely unwarranted accusations, unproven accusations, based on what you're gleaning from his facebook pages. >> excuse me, anderson, who said they were unwarranted and not true? chris has not come out and

denied anything. there's a reason why he isn't giving interviews, and that's because he can't defend what's on the blog. i mean, i stand by what's on the blog. i've gotten stuff from other third-party sources. >> you stand by that he's satan's representative on the student council? you stand by that? >> well, excuse me, anderson, that isn't on the blog. that's taken from another posting. somewhere on the internet i may have put out -- >> so you don't stand by that? >> that's my opinion, i do stand by that. >> i'm just asking you if you stand by it. okay. you stand by it. today the democrat running to replace michigan's departing attorney general, his boss, cited that interview and is now calling his republican opponent to join him in demanding that shirvell be fired. earlier this evening i spoke with a man who would do the firing but for now says he won't. i spoke to michigan attorney general mike cox. we've received a ton of e-mail from people asking us why andrew shirvell still has a job as assistant attorney general in your office.

and free speech is critical, but he appears to be targeting a college student. i know you've said this guy's views don't reflect your views or those of your office, but why is he still employed? >> well, for a number of reasons. here in america we have this thing called the first amendment, which allows people to express what they think, and engage in political and social speech. and more on point, the supreme court, both the united states supreme court in 1995 in a case called the u.s. versus treasury employees said that civil service employees in the federal system and by extension in the state system, have free -- first amendment rights outside of the work as long as it doesn't impact their performance at their job. and mr. shirvell is sort of a front line grunt assistant prosecution in my office.

he does satisfactory work. and off hours he's free to engage under our civil service rules, michigan supreme court rulings and the united states supreme court rule. interestingly enough by justice stevens wrote the opinion to engage in free speech. >> aren't you empowered by the state civil rules to discipline him for conduct unbecoming of a state employee? do you think his actions are unbecoming of a state employee? >> his actions are offensive. but you know, conduct unbecoming is one of those empty vessel statements. what it mean has never really been fleshed out. >> do you think this is unbecoming? >> certainly it's unbecoming of civil discourse, it's unbecoming of common courtesy, and quite frankly, i feel embarrassed for mr. armstrong, you know, that he has this unwanted attention.

but again, anderson, this is speech put on a blog. now, if there's conduct that's verified -- for instance, if a personal protection order was sought by mr. armstrong and granted in the michigan civil service or disciplinary code, we could start looking at things in terms of perhaps sending to an employee assistance program. >> so if there was a restraining order or something filed or there was a lawsuit by mr. armstrong against mr. shirvell, you might look at this differently or that might change your ability to do something. >> absolutely. you know, it's -- there's a spectrum between pure speech and actual physical actions. now, clearly if he was stalking him and violating the criminal law, action could be taken against him. >> but i was reading this supreme court case, and the court said, and i quote, government agencies are charged by law with doing particular tasks.

agencies hire employees to help do those tasks as effectively and efficiently as possible. when someone is paid a salary so she will contribute to the agency's effective operation begins to do or say things that detract from the agency's effective operation, the government employer must have the power to restrain her. isn't mr. shirvell detracting from your operation? why would a gay person feel confident that he or she would be represented by this man as an attorney or frankly, you know, they would start to have perhaps doubt about your office's ability to do that? >> well, i think that's quite a stretch. first and foremost, mr mr. shirvell, his job is he helps preserve state criminal convictions when they're challenged in federal court. he does that from 8:30 to 5:00 very well. him blogging, it's not impacting the mission of the office. >> you've made internet safety one of the main initiatives of your department. >> right.

>> we found this pamphlet that the state of michigan uses and defines a cyberbully, and they say the type of content of cyberbullying may send and includes the following, vulgar and argumentmentive message, cruel, offensive and insulting remarks. under that definition, is andrew shirvell a cyberbully? >> well, that's a pamphlet by a different agency and i'm glad you brought it. we've educated a half million kids on how to protect themselves from predators and also bullies on the internet. now, that being said, there isn't a crime of cyberbullying in michigan law. and the reality is -- >> i'm not asking whether it's a crime or not i know in michigan there is no cyberbull exlaw yet, but do you think shea cyberbully? >> he's clearly a bully. absolutely. is he using the internet to be a bully? yes. but is that protected under the first amendment of the united states constitution? yes. >> jeffrey toobin last night on this program, cnn legal analyst,

said that this is more about you than about shirvell. and he said that shirvell is a political ally of yours who worked on your campaign and that, you know, you campaigned on family values and weren't very supportive of, you know, gay rights, and to fire him would be politically difficult for you and that that plays a part in this story. i wanted you to be able to respond to that. >> well, you know, mr. toobin reminds me of the old joke, i'm not a lawyer but i play one on tv. because he clearly didn't read any of the supreme court case that i cited for it. >> he's a former federal prosecutor, but you're saying politics has nothing to do with it? >> that doesn't mean anything, anderson. he's not in the ring every day practicing law. he's spending time on cnn. and it's a pretty good gig. i wish i had it, but the reality is i'm out of office in three months. i have a duty to defend the michigan constitution. i have a duty to defend the michigan civil service rules. even at those times when i don't

like it. i mean, part of my job as attorney general is to stand up and defend the first amendment. even when that protects offensive people and people who are saying things i don't like. >> attorney general mike cox, i appreciate you being on. thank you. >> thank you, anderson. so the question for us to consider is is this a free speech issue, or should a public official be held to a different standard? let's bring in senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin and george washington law professor jonathan turley. jeff, first, i want to give you an opportunity to respond to what the attorney general said, either the personal part or about his legal argument. >> i'm sorry he's not a fan, but the point here is the united states supreme court has dealt with this issue in many different ways over many years. the public employee, the free speech rights of public employees is a longstanding subject before the supreme court. the most recent case, 2006, involves a deputy district attorney in los angeles who was

fired, and the supreme court upheld his firing. it's not an identical case, but if you look at the range of these cases, clearly the direction the court is moving is towards less and less free speech protection for stuff that is a heck of a lot less offensive than the stuff that shirvell has been doing. >> let me challenge you on that a little bit because i'm certainly not a lawyer, but what i've just read from the supreme court is if the public official is talking about something of public concern, which i guess you could argue, you know, this guy's political beliefs are a public concern, he's sort of a public official maybe because he's on a student council, he ran for student council president, is it therefore protected because it's sort of in the general public concern. >> that's right. that's -- it's what the supreme court folks would call a two-part test. the first part of the test is, is it a matter of public concern? and i think you could definitely say that what shirvell was talking about, gay rights, is a matter of public concern. but there's a second part of the test which is, does it interfere with his work? and as you pointed out in your

interview with mike cox, how would you feel sitting there as a gay person or someone who respects gay rights, which includes a lot of people who aren't gay, and see this guy representing the state of michigan? because he's not a private lawyer. he is up there representing the entire state of michigan. and i think many people in the employer position, in mike cox's position, would say, of course, he can't represent the state of michigan because people who express those kind of hateful sentiments are not representative of my office or of the state. >> professor turley, what do you make of this? you're a big defender of the first amendment. >> well, first of all, i think that jeff is right about the trend that there certainly is more and more upheld restrictions on the free speech of public employees. on my blog i've actually detailed a lot of these cases involving police officers, teachers, a great variety of public employees. in fairness to mr. cox, there is a legitimate free speech issue

here. that trend has been denounced by many people, including myself, that public employees should be allowed in their private time to espouse their views, to have -- there's many of these cases where the actual employee has an alternative lifestyle that is viewed as unpop haar or unacceptable and are disciplined for that. what makes this case i think a much closer issue, even for free speech advocates, is that have you an assistant attorney general saying i'm doing a political campaign. but the campaign's not even an anti-homosexual campaign. it's more of a campaign against this individual. and where he crossed the line, seems to be when he stands outside the person's house. that comes very, very close to stalking. there could be civil liability here. and i think that that moves this away from free speech into conduct. and that does -- that is a legitimate basis for discipline.

>> we just put up a picture at another event, not from outside his house, but on shirvell's blog there's videotape he took outside at night at shirvell's home. so that's not a picture outside shirvell's home, as i know, but there's video from outside the home on the blog. >> you're right, anderson, and the issue here, particularly for free speech advocates, they don't particularly like this trend, that jeff has correctly i think articulated. it's a trend that is cracking down on free speech and denying public employees the opportunity to have the full range of free speech. this case i think is a bit of an anomaly because you have someone who's going out there and leading a campaign that's quite hateful and quite unhinged. >> it's also not just against this college student. it's against his friends tracking you know, his friends' facebook comments and going after the guy's father and the mother of a friend of his. i mean, it seems rather obsessive.

>> well, i think it is. i mean, this is what -- i think many of us have had a sense of pause when we saw that interview. and you wouldn't call him a barking lunatic, but he certainly comes across as somebody who is obsessive. and that's not healthy for the institution that he represents, or for the individual that he is. but i do think that he may have crossed the line here. i think the only reservation i would put here is that what mr. cox articulated, whatever his motivations may be, and i'm willing to accept his motivations are to defend free speech, there is a legitimate question here. there is a dangerous trend here. and unfortunately this may be a case of bad case making bad law, in that it could magnify that trend a bit. but he's going to -- his conduct makes it more difficult for him to cloak himself entirely in the first amendment. >> jeff, this is now getting wrapped up in politics in michigan. the democratic candidate to be the next assistant -- to be the next attorney general has called on his republican opponent to

call for this guy to be fired. do you think -- you still think politics are involved, though, in the attorney general's decision not to let this guy go? >> right, because i think at the end of the day this is really a question about discretion. this is a question that's -- that raises the issue of what does the attorney general of michigan think is relevant to the conduct of his employees? is he someone who thinks that someone who behaves like shirvell is behaving can represent everyone? and, you know, i think if shirvell got fired, he would lose a lawsuit. now that may be a good thing or a bad thing but he would lose a lawsuit to get his job back. so i think this is really up to mike cox. could he, is he willing to fire him or not, and he chooses not to fire him, and i think people can draw their own conclusions about whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. the thing i don't object to that mike cox is saying is that somehow the law compels him not to fire him.

i think this is a choice he's making, not a -- something he's compelled to do by the law. >> interesting discussion. jeff toobin, jonathan turley, appreciate your expertise. thank you very much. >> thanks, anderson. >> we'll continue to follow this. let us know what you think, live chat up and running right now. up next tonight we put a racy attack ad to the test. is the re-enactment of a senator's alleged visit to a prostitute fact or fiction? is it fair? and another accuser saying bishop eddie long abused him. >> when it's god's time to expose everything it's going to happen, and i just pray. i just want people to know to keep praying. aring our expertis, and working with people who are changing the face of business in america. after 25 years in the aviation business, i kind of feel like if you're not having fun at what you do, then you've got the wrong job. my landing was better than yours. no, it wasn't. yes, it was. was not. yes, it was. what do you think? take one of the big ones out? nah.

♪ but i really love my bank ♪ i hate-- didn't quite catch that last bit. i said i really love my bank. right... is there a problem ? it's not really raging, man. uh, we were hoping for more raging ? well, you said write from the heart. yeah... don't do that. at ally, you'll love our online savings account. named the best of 2010 by money magazine. ally. do you love your bank ?

i just wish that all of the important information was gathered together in one place. [ printer whirs ] done. ♪ thanks. do you work here? not yet. from tax info to debunking myths, the field guide to evolving your workforce has everything you need. download it now at thinkbeyondthelabel.com.

personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. we've been examining some of the political ads running this campaign season. the other night you might remember we pointed out what was incorrect and misleading one by a florida democratic congressman, one by a republican congressman from north carolina. tonight a whole new kind of attack ad. this one is by charlie melancon. it actually includes a re-enactment of an alleged visit with a prostitute.

tom foreman has been looking at it perhaps in a dark room somewhere and joins us now keeping them honest. >> reporter: when a candidate says his latest commercial will air only during age appropriate shows, you now you're in for something special and louisiana democratic senator charlie melancon does not disappoint with his attack on republican senator david vitter who he is trying to unseat. maybe you forgot vitter was caught up in a prostitution scandal or that he stood by his wife in this very uncomfortable news conference in 2007 and apologized for a very serious sin. but researchtive melancon wants to make sure you remember. >> this time on forgotten crimes, caught up with prostitution scandals in washington, d.c. and new orleans, a louisiana politician has been let off the hook. today we explore the case of the senator and the madam in "law-maker, law breaker." >> reporter: this is a rarity in political ads. not only is it dressed up to

look like one of these true crime shows out there, but it's also two minutes long, complete, anderson, as you mentioned, with a re-enactment. take a look. >> david vitter won election to the united states senate as a proud family values politician. but under the surface, vitter was battling his own demons. >> things turned public for vitter when his number appeared on the d.c. madam's phone list. >> but it didn't end there. the scene shifts to new orleans where a former french quarter prostitute gave an interview exposing details about her sexual relationship with vitter. >> he went in, took a shower, spoke very little to me at first. he did his thing. he wasn't there, 15, 20 minutes at that. it was $300. >> this is a political ad. the interview and some of those images, by the way, at the end there appear to be by a production from hustler magazine's larry flynt. >> wow. i wonder if that's the first time larry flynt's material has been used in a political ad. >> maybe. >> so what's true and not true in this? >> well, it's certainly true

that these allegations have surrounded senator vitter, and he did confess to some things, but then it gets tricky because he never said precisely what his sin was. so he admitted that his number was in the d.c. madam's phone book. he never admitted the new orleans connection. he was never charged with any crime. and so no crime was ever proven. so we don't really know if he broke the law and yet that message is hammered home by folks like this voter in this ad, whose identity is hidden supposedly to protect him, although i'm not sure from what. >> for me it's not about hookers or cheating on his wife. the man broke the law, and there ought to be consequences for that. >> well, there are consequences for things like that. have you to face nasty ads like this one, which for all of this drama still comes down on our big scale as somewhere between it's a stretch and right on. anderson? >> all right, tom, fascinating. coming up, another young man

claims he was sexually coerced by bishop eddie long. and speaking out publicly. first though some other stories we're following. randi kaye has a 360 bulletin. >> reporter: anderson we're learning more about the man behind the plot to bomb times square. prosecutors say faisal shahzad studied web cams of the area and hoped to kill up to 40 people and planned additional attacks. but his attempt to blow up a car bomb on may 1st, us a know, failed. he pled guilty in june and will be sentenced next week. we've also learned over the summer the fbi recreated the ca bomb and shows it would have devastated times square. the house has passed a bill that provides free medical coverage to 9/11 first responders, many who were exposed to dangerous toxins at the world trait center site. the senate has not yet taken up that bill. just moments ago, delaware congressman mike castle has announced he has decided not to run as a write-in candidate for u.s. senate.

earlier he lost the gop primary to tea party favorite christine o'donnell. he hasn't endorsed her. she'll face democratic chris coons in the campaign to fill vice president joe biden's old seat. and jimmy carter is spending a second night at a cleveland, ohio, hospital. doctors say he's likely battling a viral infection. mr. carter turns 86, anderson, on friday. >> wow. all right. randi, appreciate that. coming up next, we're going to have a story that breaks your heart, but i want to give you a a little bit of a taste of a story we'll do for tomorrow night. a young man on death row in arkansas will ask for a new trial. he's one of the so-called west memphis three, one of those three teens convicted 16 years ago, you may remember, for the murder of three cub scouts. they were best friends who were beaten and tortured, prosecutors say, in a satanic ritual. he said he did not do it, and he's getting unexpected support from the parents of two of the victims. deborah feyerick gives us an advanced look.

>> reporter: if i met you in may of 1993, how convinced would you have been of the guilt of the three teenagers? >> 100%. >> reporter: so now, do you believe the three men in prison are guilty? >> no, ma'am. they're 100% innocent. we needed someone to hate to survive because our child was dead. >> reporter: we meet damien exelse at super max prison, an hour's drive south of little rock. you were asked at the trial did you kill christopher byers, your answer was then? >> no. absolutely not. >> reporter: your answer is. >> absolutely not. even though it's 20 years you don't get used to being asked that. it's the kind of thing that screws with your head for the rest of your life. >> we'll have deborah feyerick's full report tomorrow on "360." up next though, the story that real just breaks your heart. a mom, stepfather and the little boy they lost to bullying. they say bullying that they warned the school about and got no action.

later, how is michael j. fox doing nearly 20 years after being diagnosed with parkinson's? cnn's sanjay gupta sat down with him. he'll join us shortly. we create and broadcast content and then distribute it across tv, the web, and via mobile. i even use the web to get paid. with acceptpay from american express open, we now invoice advertisers and receive payments digitally. and i get paid on average three weeks faster. booming is never looking for a check in the mail. because it's already in my email. i'm friend, secret-keeper and playmate. do you think i'd let osteoporosis slow me down? so i asked my doctor about reclast because i heard it's the only once-a-year iv osteoporosis treatment. he told me all about it and i said that's the one for nana. he said reclast can help restrengthen my bones to help make them resistant to fracture for twelve months.

and reclast is approved to help protect from fracture in many places: hip, spine, even other bones. [ male announcer ] you should not take reclast if you're on zometa, have low blood calcium, kidney problems. or you're pregnant, plan to become pregnant or nursing. take calcium and vitamin d daily. tell your doctor if you develop severe muscle, bone or joint pain, of if you have dental problems, as rarely jaw problems have been reported. the most common side effects include flu like symptoms, fever, muscle or joint pain and headache. share the world with the ones you love! and ask your doctor about reclast. or call 1-866-51-reclast. year-long protection for on-the-go women.

since our beginning, we've been there for clients through good times and bad, when our clients' needs changed we changed to meet them. through the years, when some lost their way, we led the way with new ideas for the financial challenges we knew would lie ahead. this rock has never stood still. and there's one thing that will never change. we are, the rock you can rely on. prudential. you know, we focused a lot on this program over the years over the problem of bullying and how a lot of us today don't take it seriously enough. some adults think it's a rite of passage, something all kids go through. but while many kids do go

through it, not all of them survive. i want you to meet a little boy named asher brown. he lived in texas, he was 13 years old. when i say was in the past because he shot himself in the head last thursday. his stepfather found his little body crumpled up in the bottom of a closet. asher's mom and stepfather say he was bullied to death. he killed himself after being constantly harassed by four classmates, picked on, they say, because he was small, because he didn't wear the popular clothes other kids wore and because he was gay. they say school officials ignored their repeated complaints. the school district denies getting any complaints from anyone, from asher's family, students or staff members. students or staff members. we talked to other parents who say their kids are also being bullied at the school and say their complaints are ignored. i talked earlier to asher's mom and stepfather, and they're advocate, louis geigerman. amy, how are you holding up? >> i guess as well as can be

expected for the situation. i just -- i have to do it minute by minute. >> that's all you can do. >> i can't think past -- i can't think past that. >> she's very strong. we've got a lot of support, but it's the worst thing that can ever happen to a mother. >> david, tell me about asher. what kind of boy was he? >> he was your typical rambunctious, spirited, happy-go-lucky guy. he was my shadow. everywhere i went he was behind me. i tell people if i burped he would say excuse me for me. it's hard for me to think about him without losing it, but i'm going to do it. he's -- he's only been with me 3 1/2 years, and he's my stepson, but in spirit he's my -- he's my son. and i love him very much because he loved everybody else. what i got out of him, unconditional love. he gave everybody unconditional love. he taught me that. >> when did you notice things were going bad for him at school?

>> we noticed the first day he started at hamilton, and there were some serious problems where he'd come home, tell us he's being picked on, and i said, well, that's not cool. tell your teacher that, and it kept going on and on, where just from the very beginning. >> he started there in the sixth grade, and this was supposed to be his eighth grade year. so there was an ongoing problem for what would amount to 18 months to two years. >> what would kids say? they taunted him because they felt he was gay, and they taunted him because they felt he was different? >> they taunted him because he didn't wear abercrombie and fitch. he didn't wear fancy shoes. he didn't have fancy watches or ipods. >> he wasn't interested in those things. >> he didn't want those things. >> we could have bought it for him. we asked him if he wanted it. he said no. there's for important things.

>> the boys and girls, they thought he was nerdy because he read lots of books. they picked on him and called him, you know, nasty names for -- the disparaging comments they used toward homosexuals. >> he was smaller than everybody. >> he was smaller than a lot of kids and, you know, so just stature-wise he stood out. >> and he was buddhist, i understand they made fun of that. >> yes. >> it was ridiculous. >> david, he actually told you he was gay the morning he died. >> right. he did. >> yes. >> and whad our suspicions. we kind of talked about it amongst us, but he came out and he was -- he was okay with it. >> how were you with it? >> we -- we loved him and gave him unconditional support, and we told him that months before when he started to express the fact that he thought he might be gay, we said, we love you no matter what, and we will always be here for you.

>> did you think -- did you call the school? did you talk to teachers or anything? how did you try to deal with the bullying or did you think you could? >> well, first, i tried to raise him to be a good, responsible young man. i told him, okay, deal with it. talk to the bullies, get them to stop. if they don't stop, tell the teachers. tell whoever's in charge. when that didn't help, then i got involved and amy got involved. we went to the schools. >> we made phone calls, e-mails. we made every attempt. >> numerous trips to the school. >> the school district is now saying they weren't aware that asher was having these problems in the school. and as you know, they put out this statement, i just want to read part of it, it says in their quest for an answer, a few will assign blame to try to make sense of the tragedy. prior to his death there was no reports from students, staff members or the parents. such report would have been investigated and consequences would have followed the student code of conduct. you say that's just not true. >> absolutely not true. >> not true. >> anderson. >> go ahead. >> i'll speak to that.

i mean, when in doubt, the rule is with the school district, when in doubt, deny, deny, deny. >> we've heard from other parents who say there is bullying at this school. so i mean, it's not just you two saying this. >> yes, sir, that's true. >> why do you think, amy, that the school district is now saying, look, we didn't know about it? >> because my son killed himself and he's gone and we can't bring him back, and they realize what they did was wrong. they didn't take this seriously and nothing's going to bring him back, and we have no reason to lie about the fact that we went to them for help to make it stop. >> amy, i mean, i can't imagine what it takes for you and david to be on here tonight. this is so recent, and i can't imagine the strength. and i want to thank you for it,

because, i mean, it's important that we talk about this because we've got to stop this from happening to other kids. we've reported on this too many times. >> yes, sir. >> absolutely. >> what do you want educators out there to now, amy? especially parents, if maybe their child is being bullied or they don't know what to do? >> please, if you -- if you have children that you think may be bullied, if they seem sad or withdrawn and you ask questions and they say i'm fine, push past that. push past the "i'm fine." it's extremely important. these kids are worried about retribution for speaking up. not only speaking up for themselves, but speaking up for their friends that are getting picked on. and we've got to make this stop. i don't want my son to have died in vain, and i can't bring my baby back, but if i can help some other family to not have to

go through this, then it's worth it. >> i'm so sorry that we're here under these circumstances, and i really, i don't know what else to say except i thank you for your strength and thank you for talking with us. >> thank you for having us. >> it's our pleasure. >> i hope you stay strong in the days and weeks and months ahead. >> just pray for us. >> god's with us. keep praying, though. for everybody involved. >> absolutely. >> thank you. programming note, every night next week we're devoting time to the problem of bullying. i know a lot of adults think it's not so bad, but it's no longer just in the schools. it's online, and the taunts and terror accompany kids 24 hours a day. at the end of next week, we'll have a special hour of programming devoted to it. we'll hear from parents and educators, kids who have been bull ed. "american idol"'s crystal bowersox will be on. it's our special all next week

on "360. ". still ahead tonight, up close with actor michael j. fox. sanjay gupta's in-depth interview. fox has been living with parkinson's for nearly two decades now. we'll talk about what his life is like today and hopes for the future. and another of bishop eddie long's accusers speaks out. >> i'm not a perfect man, but this thing i'm going to fight. will e more standard safety features "than you. "10 airbags... daytime running lamps... "onstar automatic crash response. "in case ya didn't see it, that's probably why "msn autos called the cruze "the class of its class right now. that seems pretty clear, doesn't it?" the all-new chevrolet cruze. starting under $17,000. get used to more. ♪

♪ i like your messy hair ♪ i like the clothes you wear ♪ i like the way you sing ♪ and when you dance with me ♪ you always make me smile [ male announcer ] we believe you're at your best when you can relax and be yourself. and at thousands of newly refreshed holiday inn hotels, you always can. holiday inn. stay you. and now stay rewarded with a sweet dilemma. up to five free nights at any of our properties or double points. we need directions to go to... pearblossom highway? it's just outside of lancaster.

sure, i can download directions for you now. we got it. thank you very much! check it out. i can like, see everything that's going on with the car. here's the gas level. i can check on the oil. i can unlock it from anywhere. i've received a signal there was a crash. some guy just cut me off. i'll get an ambulance to you right away. safely connecting you in ways you never thought possible. onstar. live on. michael j. fox doesn't give a lot of interviews, but he just spoke with our dr. sanjay gupta, he's been living with

parkinson's disease for two decades now. you might remember he was 29 when he first noticed the symptoms and was diagnosed the following year. today michael still acts but he devotes a lot of time to his charity to find a cure. watch the interview tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. eastern, but here's some of it tonight in our up-close segment. >> there was a real clear period around 1993, '94, about two years after the diagnosis where i just got it. i just accepted it, and i realized, you know, that there's an old saying that my happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance and inverse to my expectation. it is what it is, and so now what? >> so once you were not in denial, you think you were happier? >> yeah, absolutely. because when you can look at

truth of something, then -- then i mean, that's what it is. it is what it is. now you have options. the only thing i don't have a choice about is whether or not i have parkinson's. everything else is my choice. that's incredibly liberating. that's more liberating than the physical constraints of this disease are limiting. >> reporter: are the things that you particularly miss that you can't do? things you say, god, i really just wish i could do this, still. >> no. i do everything i did before. i play hockey, i play golf, i play guitar, i hang out with my kids. if it seriously limited or restricted or eliminated or adversely affected my ability to interact with my kids, that would be something that would be hard to deal with. i go back to my reasons for starting this foundation. if you -- i use this analogy a lot, but i think it's really apt. if you step off a curb and get

hit by a bus, the impact on your life is immediate and catastrophic, and you have no options. you just -- if -- with parkinson's, you're crossing the road and you get stuck in the middle and you know the bus is coming and you can't get outf the way. so you can kind of freak out and you kind of go with it, the bus is going to hit me at some point, even though you don't know how fast or how big or whatever, but you can be stuck in that result. this bus is going to hit you. or you can use the time you have before the bus gets there to try to change the route. and that's what we try to do. methodically and with a degree of urgency, try to connect the dots and get this done. >> such a great guy. he's had this 20 years. he's had brain surgery to try to treat it. what other options are there? >> so he had brain surgery on the right side of the brain

which controls the left side of his body, and he said he got a really good result at the time. but quickly after that the right side of his body started to get affected so one option would be to do the operation on the other side and i asked him about that. he said he's just not quite ready to have that done yet. he wants the surgery to guarantee a little bit more than what it does right now, just taking care of symptoms. he gets good results with the meds. he has what is called dis-kinesias, the movements that you saw him sitting there doing, but that's actually as a result of being medicated as opposed to the medication not working. so the medications are working for him. he doesn't get really slow of movement, he doesn't get the terrible tremor or the expressionless face. >> you're saying when he sleeps and does something like play the guitar or skates he doesn't have the symptoms. >> yeah. so really rote activities, things he's done for a long time, playing the guitar, ice-skating, at sleep most people with parkinson's disease do not have the tremor because you're not activating any movement and the brakes are sort of turned on in terms of the

tremor, but when he wakes up, it immediately comes back. he has to put on the special shoes, the whole thing. >> he's incredibly strong. the full report is on with sanjay tomorrow. you can see it tomorrow night. dr. sanjay gupta reports, a conversation with michael j. fox, 8:00 p.m. eastern here on cnn. sanjay, thanks. coming up, another accuser speaking out against bishop eddie long. the fourth man to come forward. also tonight what happens when the republican candidate for governor of new york took exception to one of the reporters covering him. here's a taste of it. >> of course you'll get it at appropriate time. you're not entitled to it. at the appropriate time you'll get it. >> you're the attorney general of new york. get triple points every time you use your card at marriott. apply now and earn 22,500 bonus points when you use your card and enjoy a free night stay. so, before you know it, work time becomes well-deserved downtime. apply now at marriott.com/freenightstay.

you've got staying power.

in 2008 i quit venture capital to follow my passion for food. i saw a gap in the market for a fresh culinary brand and launched behindtheburner.com. we create and broadcast content and then distribute it across tv, the web, and via mobile. i even use the web to get paid. with acceptpay from american express open, we now invoice advertisers and receive payments digitally. and i get paid on average three weeks faster. booming is never looking for a check in the mail. because it's already in my email.

another accuser of bishop eddie long speaking out tonight, one of four young men who has accused the pastor of the new birth baptist missionary church of sexual coercion. all four are suing. the bishop plans to, quote, vigorously fight the charges. last night we played you excerpts that a georgia news station did with a man named jamal parris, one of the men suing. now another man has gone on camera. we got the video from our affiliate in atlanta. he doesn't talk much about the specific charges, because his lawyer told him not to, but he did say this. >> once the time is right to expose everything, it's going to happen. i just pray -- i want people to know, keep praying. keep praying for our strength and you us getting through this. i pray for everyone. especially bishop. especially bishop. because he knows the truth. he knows the truth. i pray for him, too. i really do.

i wasn't free until i came out with it. that's when my life has been much better. this last week has been free. this is a hard time for the world and, you know, i have no hate for anyone because that's not -- god doesn't produce hate. there's only one way to god and that's the truth. >> bishop long's lawyer fired back today saying long's accusers are attempting to try their lawsuits in the media in violation of court rules. following a number of other stories, randi kaye again has the business news and bulletin. what's up, randi? >> reporter: a heated exchange between karl paladino, the republican candidate for governor in new york and a reporter for the "new york post" was caught on tape. take a look at this video from affiliate ynn albany. >> hey, guys, easy. >> come on. >> take it easy. don't touch me. >> take it's.

>> here's what happened there. fred dicker of the post asked paladino to back up claims that his democratic opponent andrew cuomo had extra marital affairs when he was still married but palladino turned on dicker slamming "the post" coverage of a young daughter he had out of wedlock. after a five-month absence from stores, johnson & johnson will start shipping some of its recalled over-the-counter children's drugs to rell tailser next week. that's what the company's president is expected to say in testimony on capitol hill tomorrow. the drugs were recalled because of possible contamination from bacteria and small metal parts. bp says it will create a new safety division in the aftermath of this summer's gulf oil spill disaster. the company says the unit will have sweeping powers to oversee and audit operations around the world. and some serious moaky business. when the commonwealth games begin next month in new delhi, india, officials will use, get this, 38 trained and large langer monkeys to chase smaller

stray monkeys away from the games. stray monkeys, apparently, are common all over new delhi. >> wow. >> i guess they don't want them to get in the way. >> employment for large monkeys there. that's good news for them. >> there you go. >> tonight's shot, randi, is a major case, i guess of awkwardness on live television. here's the scene, a live reality tv show, "australia's next top model." the winner had just been crowned, a young woman kelscy in a black dress. the runner up, amanda, is in the red dress. remember, this happened live. >> it's you, kelscy. >> i'm so sorry. oh, my god. oh, i'm -- i don't know what to say. this is not -- this was a complete accident. i'm so sorry. it's amanda. i'm so sorry. it was read to me wrong. >> that's all right. >> it's okay. >> oh, god.

>> it's okay. >> this is what happens when you have live tv folks. i'm so sorry. >> it's okay. >> this is insane. >> the studio audience was stunned. kelsey, the runner up, was gracious enough to help the host not feel so embarrassed. telling her it was an honest mistake. live tv. it's tough. >> i know, they say that's what's happened on live tv. i've never seen it before. on live tv. i feel awful. she did handle it well. >> she did handle it well, though. i'll ask the michigan attorney again why this man still has a job, keeping them honest, still ahead. aren't you sick of these airline credit cards

that advertise flights for 25,000 miles? but when you call... let me check. oh fudge, nothing without a big miles upcharge. it's either pay their miles upcharges or connect through mooseneck! [ freezing ] i can't feel my feet. we switched to the venture card from capital one -- so no more games. let's go see those grandkids. [ male announcer ] don't pay miles upcharges. don't play games. get the flight you want with the venture card at capitalone.com. [ loving it ] help! what's in your wallet?